I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



I jy/,«// :.,.vvr7T4| 

| UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. } 



. REMARKS 

ON THE STRICTURES 



REVEREND JOSEPH LYMAN, D. D. 

OF HATFIELD* 



©N A PAMPHLET ENTITLED 

« COMMENTS, &c." 



*VXTH A PRINCIPAL VIEW TO THE PRACTICAL SYSTEM, 
THOSE STRICTURES SEEM DESIGNED TO 
SUPPORT : 



BY SAMUEL WILLARD, 




GREENFIELD : 
PRINTED BY DENIO AND PHELPS. 



REMARKS, &c 



IT is not the present design of the write* to tax 
the public with many additional pages on the unhappy 
controversy now pending, so far as it is limited to him- 
self, or to his church and people. To those, who are 
in the habit of distinguishing between Confident claims 
and just claims, and hare had leisure and disposition 
to read and compare the four pamphlets already pub- 
lished, viz. the Documents, the Counterpart, the Com- 
ments, and the Strictures, little more, it is conceived, 
is necessary to a fair decision on the merits of the case ; 
and, if there be any whose prepossessions withhold 
them from such a comparison, it must in respect to 
them be useless to add any thing more. Those thing* 
in the Strictures, therefore, which relate particularly 
to the first council, so called, to the sentiments the 
candidate then professed, to the council ex parte at 
Muddy Brock, or to the first council at Greenfield in 
1813, I shall pass over with few words, referring the 
reader to the Comments and the Documents for a 
more particular reply. That, during the present con- 
trovers v, the pastor and church of Deeriield have in 
?H things Aone that w hich is correct, is hardly to be 
supposed ; but they humbly hope that in the great 
day, when the secrets of ail hearts wiii be revealed, 
they shail obtain the general approbation of their 
Judge. They wish too for the approbation of their 
Christian brethren and neighbors. The author of 
these remarks however d@es not consider iL*s, as wor- 
thy to be the principal object of his present appeal to 
the public. The inconveniences he and his people 
are suffering from the disaffection of some, with whom 
they wish to live in Christian harmony and love, ?<re, 
it is conceived, unworthy of a thought, when compar- 
ed with the extensive evils to be apprehended from 
the system^ of which these are partial results. In the 



4 



greater part of these remarks therefore it will be his 

design to expose the general principles and claims, 
fiom which these local evils proceed. 

In all controversies, addressed to the public, it 
might be well perhaps for the respective authors to in- 
quire in the outset, In what light such addresses are t+ 
be mewed* Are they to be considered, as appeals to 
the impartial decision of the public on the points at 
issue between the parties ? or are Ihey authoritative 
deeisions/or the public, with or without evidence, as 
may suit the convenience of the writer ? Few or none, 
it is probable, will hesitate to say they can with pro- 
priety be nothing else, than modest appeals to the 
judgment of that public, to which they are addressed, 
while they barely supply the necessary light and evi- 
dence. Keeping this principle in view, the author of 
these remarks will endeavor to carry himeelf with de- 
corum in regard to the public and his respected oppo- 
nent ; leaving it to them to settle between themselves 
the question of decorum relative to numerous asser- 
tions in the " Advertisement" and subsequent pagei 
of the Strictures, some of which the author of said 
Strictures has made in apparent contempt of the repre- 
sentations of him, whose character ai,d standing they 
so deeply affect. (See Strict, pp. 2, 5, 6 ) 

The Rev. author of the Strictures, it is understood, 
speaks in his own name, as well as that of his asso- 
ciates, in every thing he says in the u Advertisement" 
after the first period. From several passages in the 
Strictures it is further understood, that he is willing to 
have his own pretensions identified with those advanc- 
ed in the 2d part of the Counterpart. Premising these 
tilings, I proceed to the remarks proposed. 

Of the Comments of Mr. W. it is asserted in the 
Advertisement to the Strictures (p. 2,) " A studied 
ambiguity and concealment of his religious opinions 
run through them. His opponents are assailed from a 
covert." 

Are these accusations just ? Are the Comments so 
unmanly and disingenuous, as here represented ? Let 



s 



it be granted, that in many places they are ambiguous; 
How does the Rev. Dr. know, that ambiguity wai 
studied '/ Perhaps the charge of ambiguity may be re- 
solved into a very questionable use of terms by the 
learned Dr. himself. It is true, that in the Comments 
little is said of the author's present belief, as to the 
truth of the doctrines in view. That was no part of 
his real nor of his professed design. The only point, 
on w hich he was disposed to join issue with his neigh- 
boring fathers and brethren, was the importance of 
those doctrines, on which, as stated in the Comments, 
he had had somewhat different sentiments from them, 
and on that account had been treated in the manner 
there related. To bring this point, viz. the impor- 
tance of those doctrines, to a fair discussion was the 
leading object of the Comments, as will probably ap- 
pear to any discerning reader. Dr. L. understands it 
so. " His effort," says he, (p. 23,) " is to show that 

| the doctrines in dispute are not of such weight, as to 
require adoption, in order to the admission of the can- 
didate to the ministry." Whence then the charge of 
studied ambiguity ? of concealment ? of a covert as- 

j sault ? Suppose the magnitude of Europe were the 
point in dispute, need there be any studied ambiguity 
or concealment in saying nothing of its fertility ? 

My Rev. opponents, if I rightly understand their 
" Advertisement," refuse to meet me on the ground, 
on which they are most explicitly (not covertly) in- 
vited to come forth, (see Com. pp. 36, 3 7,) viz. the 
fundamental importance of the doctrines in view. They 
pronounce a judgment on this specific point- (Count, p. 
21.) which involves in the apprehension of many, not 
only me, but thousands of others sustaining the same 
office ; which virtually denounces us, as unworthy of 
the sacred places we fill- When called upon to sub- 
stantiate their high accusation by proving the iden- 
tical point they have so confidently assumed ; to show 
their warrant for the tremendous judgment they pro- 
nounce ; they decline ; they throw it back on me to 
prove a negative ; to show that they have no such 
a 2 



warrant. Or at least, they must be told what their op- 
ponent thinks of another point, before they will feel 
themselves bound in justice or candor, to establish 
this. 

Eut why, after all their confident professions, and 
the correspondent measures they are pursuing, are 
they so unwilling to meet the author of the Comments 
on one of the points of their own naming^ the clear re- 
velation of the doctrines in view, as fundamental ? 
Why do they wish him to deny Ihe truth of doctrines, 
which they esteem so precious, and which he has no 
disposition to deny '/ If, they have that clear warrant 
for their judgment, which they pretend, why in the 
name of compassion do they not bring it forward, and 
at once put an end to the doubts of their less enlight- 
ened brethren? In proving the fundamentnl impor- 
tance of these doctrines they w r ill of necessity prove 
the truth of them, whereas on the other hdnd a proof 
of their truth would not necessarily prove their im- 
portance, nor bring the controversy to a close. Let 
the public then jud»e, which is the more probable, 
whether that the authors of the Counterpart think it 
unreasonable to produce the evidence they profess to 
have for the awful judgment they pronounce, relative 
to fundamental doctrines, or that they can not produce 
it. And possibly the candid reader may have feel- 
ings similar to those of Elihu on a certain occasion, 
(Job xxxii. 3.) and for a similar reason. 

The Strictures (p. 3,) speak of the Comments, as in 
some things " too personal." The reader, it is hop- 
ed, will do the Comments the justice of comparing 
them in this, as well as other points of view, with the 
Counterpart, to which they were a reply, as also with 
the Strictures which contain this complaint. 

A little below we find some complaints of a passage 
in the Comments, in which it is said in reference to 
the names subscribed to the Counterpart, " In tbe 
view r of many perhaps such a host of names will give 
demonstration to every statement or opinion they at- 
tend." The author has bo recollection of having had 



1 



any reference in this to the design of his opponent^ 
but to known facts, it beiag a frequent position, that 
so many oT such men cannot mistake nor misrepresent. 
Indeed if he author of the Strictures himself, had not 
been aware of the authority of his own name with a 
great part of the co ijmunuy, it seems hardly imagina- 
ble, that he would so often have rested his cause on 
bare assertion, as he appears to have done. 

What is written in the Comments relative to the 
exhibition o 4 the author's faith to the first council as- 
sembled for his ordination, is written. It i3 not seen 
that the Strictures require much to be added, nor any 
thing retracted. The heresy the Rev. Dr. finds ia 
the Profession, (Strict, p. 10,) still eludes my discern- 
ment. The construction he puts upon it, is not seen 
to be a neccssari/i if a natural one ; nor is it the one 
intended. My convictions are clear^ that no expres- 
sion I used on that occasion, implied a belief that our 
blessed Lord was a mere creature, nor could have 
done so without implying, what I did not hold. The 
representation, that has often been made, was proba- 
bly an inference from a sentiment, that was indeed 
avowed, viz. that I considered Christ " a derived 
Being; The Son of God,*' to use the terms 1 then u:- 
ed. How far this sentiment is chargeable with here- 
sy, we shall consider in another place. 

Mr. W. is charged, Strict, p. 12, with not believing 
in the supernatural, special, and effectual influenee* 
of the Holy Spirit, on the ground of his giving no de- 
cided ans ver to a question, tint might h ve confound- 
ed a more discerning mind, than he pretends to have, 
viz. u Which of these two causes'' (human exertion or 
divine influence) " is the deciding and distinguishing 
cause of regeneration ?" If either of them be the decid- 
ing cause, how can the other be any cause at ail ? 

" On the doctrine of election," says the Rev. Dr. 
page 13, " Mr. Willard agrees precisely with Whitby 
and other thorough going Arminians." This short 
sentence, he was probably aware, would have more 
influence with thousands of the community, than a 



i 



volume of reasoning* Such an appeal to the prejudices 
of names is not indeed decisive evidence of a bad cause ; 
but, I suppose, every one acquainted with the his tor j 
of mankind, knows it to be the usual method of sus- 
taining those causes, which w ill not bear a candid 
discussion. In one point, and probably more, Dr. L. 
as well as Mr, W. agrees precisely with the devil, 
who, we are told, %c believes there is one God." I 
mean nothing more by this, however, than to show 
the absurdity and unfairness of appealing to the preju- 
dice of obnoxious names. As to Whitby, it is pre- 
sumed, his greatness will not be made a question. Nor, 
apart from the principles he held, do I recollect to 
have seen any evidence against his goodness. 

The writer of this professes himself neither of Paul 
nor of Apollos, nor of Cephas. It is a matter of perfect 
iaditference, whether in a particular point he agrees 
with Arminius, or with Calvin, or with neither of 
them. The only point he considers deserving of at- 
tention, is, whether he be a true disciple of him, who 
is an infinitely better guide than either. 

4i Th* able treatise of the Rev. Samuel Taggart" 
on the doctrine of perseverance, I read several years 
ago. and it is my impression, that it is, to say the least, 
a plausible defence of the doctrine. 

On the paragraph quoted from the bottom cf the 
16th and top of the 17th page of Com. in the 16th and 
1 7th of Strict, the Rev. author makes a variety of re- 
marks, which must not pass without notice, as some 
of them bear hardly on the character of his opponent, 
as a man of piety or seriousness itself. 

<£ By some part of the quotation," it is said, p. 17, 
4< read in connection with a passage in page 33d Com. 
one might think that an ordaining council must be an 
assemblage of men convened to do a certain piece of 
work, as an acknowiedgment for a sumptuous enter- 
tainment provided for them by their employers. And 
if they did not do the work allotted them, they did not 
properly remunerate the expence laid out upon them," 
Candid reader, is this a fair construction ? W% 



i 



all allow there are certain external decencies belong* 
ing to the most sacred tlupgs in religion; but does 
that imply that those decencies are in our minds the 
principal things ? 

With reference to the same quotation, the Rev. Br. 
has these words, page 19; " What does Mr. YV. say ? 
That the candidate did not solicit an examination ! It 
is an unhappiness, that he has said or thought it. Ee 
would have desired it had he been deeply impressed 
with a sense of the greatness of the work*" cvc. What 
reflections are these ! and with what assurance are 
they made ! 

That Mr. W. was not duly impressed with the 
greatness of that work, for which none are of them- 
selves sufficient, is indeed to be feared. Eut the ac- 
knowledgment, that he did net on that occasion " so- 
licit a juridical trial, from which there should be no ap- 
peal,'' (see the quotation referred to,) does not in his 
opinion prove him to baye been so destitute of serious 
impre:2ion?, as his venerable opponent would have 
his reader btlieve. 

That every candidate for this awfully responsible 
office ought, previously to his entering upon it. to giva 
evidence of his aptness to teach, as well as of a pious 
and reputable character, is unquestionable. Eut the 
author of this has long entertained the opinion, held 
by many others, that so far as those doctrines, -which 
for centuries have divided the greatest and best of 
men, are subjected to examination, it should be done 
at the time the person applies for approbation to preach. 
Then it seems a check may be given with compara- 
tively few r inconveniences. Then the candidate is 
connected with no people. The consequent disap- 
pointments are few and small. His character has not 
become public, and he will suffer little mortification 
from the delay. At the time proposed for ordination, 
the hearts of the people are engaged in their candi- 
date ; a council is convened, and some of ihem per- 
haps from a distance ; considerable expense has been 
incurred in proyiding for their entertainment; indi- 



10 



vfduals have invited their friends from all quarters to 
come, and participate in the joys of the day. These 
and maoy other things of the like kind render it in 
the minds of many expedient, that the principal exam- 
ination take place at the time a man is approbated to 
preach. At that time an examination does take place 
before an association, which in general is as large as 
an ordaining council apart from the delegates. True, 
they are not always the same men, who are invited to 
the council. But there are those, who think, that in 
such cases respect is due to the judgment of brethren, 
and that there is no other way of preserving harmony 
in the Christian church. Again, it may be said c< the 
approbating association may differ in opinion from us." 
True; but shall we' not think it possible, thai in that 
difference they may be in the right and we in the wrong? 
" But in those associations the churches are not repre- 
sented, 55 They are not. As a compensation for this 
however, it is to be remembered, that previously to 
the eall 5 tbe church particularly concerned, have a pe- 
culiar opportunity for determining the candidate's apt- 
ness to teach, hearing him, as they do for several 
weeks or months, and in that way learning not only 
what he believes, but in what manner he enforces his 
doctrine. From this pre-eminent advantage, and the 
general information and good sense in our churches, I 
conceive that (if left entirely to themselves and the 
Great Head of the church) they will generally judge 
more correctly for themselves, than a council will 
judge for them ; that they will be less like iy to yield 
unduly to parly prejudices, than those who have pro- 
fessionally espoused any particular dogma? ; and of 
course, that great dependence ought to be placed on 
the decision of the church, by a council called to or- 
dain. For these and other reasons I made the avowal, 
which has brought on me the reflections quoted above. 
All this I suppose and probably much more would be 
said by the multitude of . distinguish* d clergymen, on 
whom the Kev. Dr. has thought fit to vent his feeliugs 
in the following quotation from page 16. " Certainly 



11 



they who act for Christ in consecrating to office, most 
examine and try the candidate, to learn whether he 
be a proper person to receive consecration. This 
right ought never to be disputed. But this right and 
authority are disputed. Councils have been conven- 
ed, in which it has been overruled, that the exhibition 
of a creed, or even the call and approbation of the 
church, shall preclude the Triers from putting ques- 
tions. Shameful modern instances of this negligence 
in the Lord's work, might be adduced- But let a veil 
be cast over transactions so reprehensible, so little 
creditable to some nominal leaders in, the kingdom of 
Christ. But this lax, criminal practice of a few," &c. 

The instances, in which all questions have been 
overruled, it is presumed, have been few or none. Ma- 
ny however avow that, if they can be satisfied of the 
natural ability, the learning, the piety, and good re- 
port of the candidate, as also of his firm belief in the 
divinity of the gospel and humble disposition to em- 
brace whatever it shall appear to reveal, they do not 
wish to question him particularly about abstruse and 
disputable points. All these, it is conceived, come 
within the scope of the Rev. Dr's. censures; for it is 
something else than neglect to hinder others from ask- 
ing questions, that ought to be asked. True, these 
gentlemen must be aware, that in this way, danger- 
ous errors or defects may spring up in the ehurch. 
But it is a consideration with them, whether they can 
prevent them without occasioning other evils far 
greater. And perhaps in the great day, when they 
will have a more competent judge, their forbearance 
will be found to have sprung from a principle, similar 
to that avowed by the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 2. ' « I 
have fed you with milk and not with meat ; for hit 
erto ye were not able to bear it and by our infalli- 
ble Master himself, John xvi. 12. " I have yet many 
things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now." 
They may think there are many thiags highly desira- 
ble, but that in present circumstances, they can ex- 
pect no good by insisting upon them* 



11 

But we must return once more to the quotation, t# 
which we have twice referred. The Rev. Dr speaks 
of it as not consistent in its several parts. Perhaps 
the supposed inconsistency may be found to arise from 
a misconstruction, which requires some apology on 
his part. He imputes to it the sentiment, that the 
council are obliged to proceed and ordain agreeably 
to the voice of the church, and then proceeds to refute 
it ; whereas no such idea was intended ; nor is it 
seen how it could fairly be inferred from any thing, un- 
less it were from something quoted from the Rev. 
President Stiles. Though the council is allowed to 
have no censorial power over the candidate or the 
church, it is expressly conceded that they " are to 
judge for themselves of the qualifications of the pastor 
elect," in order, as might have been understood, to 
determine whether it be proper for them to proceed to 
ordination. On the very page of the Comments, from 
which the Rev. author oi Strict, began his quotation, 
viz. the 16th, he might have found the following pas- 
sage ; " I was always ready to suppose the first coun- 
cil in refusing me ordination, acted conscientiously ; 
and it is one of the first principles of ethics and reli- 
gion, that conscience must in all cases be obeyed to 
the extent of our physical power." 

The author of the Strictures, page 17, says of an 
ordaining council, " They are one of our Lord's solemn 
earthly tribunals ; invested with plenary powers, they 
are to exercise a juridical authority-" They are, ex 
officio, to try and determine the qualifications of the 
candidate." 

If these high prerogatives are conceded to ordaining 
councils in the extent, for which the Counterpart and 
Strictures seem to contend; if every church and pea- 
pie after electing their minister, must call a council 
from the neighborhood, and submit to them in a juridi- 
cal capacity whether they shall have the man of their 
choice or not ; if after being denied the assistance of 
one council called for the purpose of ordination, and 
denied merely on the ground of some difference in re- 



IS 



gard io those abstruse doctrines in which every one is 
liable to err, they may cot without sundering the cords 
of love ask assistance from others; if on account of 
this they are to be treated, as outcasts from the com- 
monwealth of the Redeemer, what becomes of the 
TtiT foundation of the congregational churches ? 

In the Cambridge Platform, which was adopted by 
the venerable fathers of New England, and has ever 
since been regarded, as the only human constitution 
of the congregational churches of this commonwealth, 
we have these words, chap. 9. sec. 2. " Ordination we 
account nothing else than the solemn putting a man 
inio his place and office in the church, whereunto he 
hm\ a right before by election, being like the installirg 
of a magistrate." This I suppose a clear expression 
of the mipd of our fathers, relative to the point before 
us ; for, if by the election of a church a man has a 
r ght to the office of a pastor, a council called to or- 
daia him can have no right to forbid his induction to 
that cfiice. A magistrate, duly elected or appointed, 
must be installed. 

Again, (sec. 4.) the election of church officers is 
tp^ken of, as an act superior to that of ordination; if 
so, it is conceived, the former must control the latter. 

In the Com. (pp, 17, 18.) the reader may find quo- 
tations from the late Rev. Dr. Stiles in opposition to 
that authority of orda'niog councils, for which the au« 
thorsofthe Counterpart were supposed to contend. 
The author of Strict, to the great admiration of one 
at least, would persuade his reader there is nothing hi 
those abstracts to the purpose for which they were cit- 
ed. Some of them are these : "-Nor do we find the a jos- 
tles or neighbouring churches ever negatived a popu- 
lar election ; but universally ordained such men to the 
ministry, as by the choice of the congregation appear- 
ed to be men o^ood report." 

u The po* ers of the brethren in the case before us, 
are abridged pad embarrassed, and their liberty hut 
partial, when among a body of free apostolic crunches 
a number of neighbouring churches take upon thein to 

B 



be displeased with the acts and election of a sister 
church, and excommunicate- or refuse Christian fel- 
lowship with that church, if this should not in the 
event control the election and introduce a negative on 
the church, yet it certainly has a tendency to it ; and 
at least show s that that combination of churches are 
desirous of spiritual dominion." 

" Congregational councils are advisory only." 

Would my limits admit, several pages might he -quot- 
ed to a similar effect ; and it is to be remembered, that 
that learned and good man is not giving merely his 
own opinion, but what he understands to be the general 
sentiment of the churches. 

The writer of this would by no means excite cause- 
less alarms; but it does appear to him high time for 
the people of G od throughout our land, and more espe- 
cially in this vicinity, to look to those liberties, where- 
with Christ has made them free. The signs of the 
times are many* Pretensions are almost everywhere 
set up, which seem impossible to be justified to Gox> 
or man, on any other ground, than that of absolute in- 
fallibility. The rights of the people to choose their 
own pastors, and judge for themselves of the doctrines 
and duties of religion are not very je$pre$&g ^eiiied ei- 
ther in the Counterpart or the Strictures, But per- 
haps the point, to which some of my Rev. brethren in 
this neighbourhood wish t© bring the people, may be 
safely conjectured from the plan of a consociation, set 
on foot in the-auliimil of 1808 in the Northern associa- 
tion of Hampshire county. The course of the busi- 
ness was this ; the several churches in that associa- 
tion were invited to choose delegates to meet with 
the association for the purpose of devising some plan 
for the better regulation of ecclesiastical aiiairs. Some 
of the churches did choose such delegates ; a conven- 
tion was held ; and a committee of three clergymen 
appointed to draught a constitution for consociation. 
A partial instrument was accordingly drawn up, and 
gent out lor the ratification cf the churches. 



IS 



And what was to be expected of gentlemen, w! o 
took the ground, that is generally taken by the Rcv- 
Clergy of this neighborhood, particularly the authors 
of the Counterpart? Can it be doubted, that they 
would make it an object to secure the entire control 
of the churche3 in thek connexion, at least so far s& 
their favorite doctrines were in any way concerned ? 
Let us see how in fact it was. There were at least 
two openings for the establishment of this control. In 
the 'first place the instrument professed to be a mere 
outline of a constitution ; which implied that it was 
to be filled up, after it had been adopted, and become 
by express provision iadissoluhly binding on- the 
churches. Here it may be thought the churches were 
safe, because they would of course have a voice in 
whatever additions were made to it But let it be 
supposed, that the clerical part of the con&ocklioa 
were united in the sentiment, that it were better for 
them to have the control of the churches, and we must 
immediately see that here was an opening for them 
to obtain it ; for, if only one delegate out of nine for 
Instance were induced to join them, their object was 
accomplished; they could introduce any article, they 
pleased, against the voice of the other eight churches. 

But. nothing of this seems necessary to have given 
the consociation complete and universal control over 
the churches, that should adopt the plan. The 11th 
article expressly provided that - if should ? be deem- 
ed the duty of that body to watch over thf several 
churches in their connexion, and see that gospel or- 
der and discipline were maintained in them." " Gos- 
pel order and discipline, 5 ' 1 suppose it will be agreed, 
are very broad terms. Suppose the prelectors of the 
consociation had imagined it would conduce to the 
maintenance ol sound doctrine, to prohibit a vacant 
church from hearing any candidate without a previous 
recommendation from Ihem ; or to apply to any but 
themselves, as an ordaining council ; or to admit any 
to their communion on any other ground, than the par- 
ticular test $iey thculd prescribe j would not this artv 



16 



ele Rally justify such interference ? Would it not even 
require it I « It shall be deemed the duty of this 

boily,*' £c» 

It appears to me, that the power? proposed to be 
ceded to the- consociation, amounted by fair construc- 
tion to a total subversion of the rights and liberties of 
individual ehi?rehes; certainly so, if the sentiments of 
the excellent Presidtnt Stiles are correct. Speaking 
of consociation, he says, " The moment jurisdiction 
enters, like the creating Caesar perpetual Dictator, the 
beginning of the absolute loss uf liberty commences." 
Again, he says, " in faithfulness to posterity and the 
truth, every present feneration should teach their ris- 
ing offspring the essentia! difference between what aris- 
es irom human policy, and the institutes of heaven ; 
and that as the Most High ha* not invested any order 
cf men since the apostolic age with divine infallible au- 
thority, so none of their decisions on or about religion 
partake in the feast degree of infallibility : that eccle- 
siastical councils have no authority unless imparted to 
them by the churches, and this, though ecclesiastical, 
yet not divine — and that, if ever this be ceded or giv- 
en up to the degree of controlling particular churches, 
posterity will again date the death of liberty from that 
unhappy arra. till future vigorous struggles and united 
combined exertions of the public spirit shall resume 
it into those hands where Gor> and nature placed it.* 5 * 

This instrument was communicated to the several 
chuiches under the association; and probablv it will 
not be denied, that great zeal was exerted in procuring 
it adoption In most of those churches it was accept- 
ed, either with or without some proposed amendment. 
But from the strenuous opposition it met in two br 
three churches, or some other reason, it has hitherto 
been suffered to rest. Probably the projectors were 
satisfied, that ;be people were hardly ripe for such a 
surrender of their liberties; that they had not yet lost 
sight of the object, for which our forefathers fled to this 



* Discourse on Christian Un. 114 — ll§ pages* 



11 



distant, desert land; and that the work must be ma- 
tured by some different measures • 

The Kev. author of the Strictures, had no visible 
hand in the projected consociation. But considering 
his zeal for similar measures, his high authority and 
great influence among his neighboring brethren.aud his 
union with them in their proceedings relative to the 
pas? or and church of Deeraeld, it can hardly be doubt- 
ed, that he was consulted on the subject. 

Far be it from the writer of this, to insinuate that 
the projectors pf consociation, and the abettors of sim- 
ilar measures are iniluenced by corrupt ambition. 
Doubtless they may think they are doing Gob ser- 
vice. But, should they succeed in bringing the pub- 
lic mind to the adoption of the measures they seem to 
have in view, they may lay a foundation for ecclesias- 
tical tyranny under successors less humble and meek 
than themselves. 

But to return to the Strictures ; the Rev. author ob- 
serves (p. 7,) Mr. W- wishes to know what the wri- 
ters oi the Counterpart mean by — the doctrines of the 
reformed churches — the doctrines of the true church 
of God in all ages,*' and accordingly proceeds to de- 
fine them. I will not accuse him of designed equivo- 
cation ; but the fact is, he has changed the terms. In 
the Counterpart it u asserted of the Creed presented 
to the first Council, that c * On the great leading doc- 
trines of the reformation it is silent." To the author 
of the Comments this appeared a very bold assertion, 
opposed to the most notorious facts, as may be seen, 
Com. pp. 10, 11, 12 ? Totally unable to conceive in 
what fair construction the assertion could be maintain- 
ed, he did ask, u What the gentlemen meant by the 
great leading doctrines of the reformation V How does 
the Rev. Dr. disengage himself and his brethren from 
the difficulty ? Ey a very convenient substitution of 
other terms. 64 Mr. W. wishes to know what the wri- 
ters of tkis Counterpart mean by the dcclrines of the 
reformed churches." 

b 2 



IB 



Every one, acquainted with ecclesiastical histo- 
ry, knows that the title of " the Reformed Church" is 
arrogated by the followers of Calvin in exclusion of 
the Lutherans and every other denomination of Chris- 
tina?. The reformation is considered, as having be- 
gun with Luther, or rather with Wicfcpf; Of course, 
iHs conceived, the term of c: the reformed church'* 
could not fairly have been substituted for that of «• the 
reformation*" But this change is comparatively un- 
important. The original assertion was, % < On the 
g / eat teaming doctrines of the reformation it is silent." 
W bat could those doctrines be, but those which led 
to the reformation, were chieSy influential in bringing 
ri abost and constituted, so far as doctrine was con- 
cerned, the essence of it, forming the line of distinc- 
t on between the reformers and the corrupt church, 
from which they withdrew ? 

Though I am unwilling to suppose this a designed 
piece of tergiversation, I would ask whether it does 
r ot discover a degree of inattention altogether unsuit- 
f Me to the fair pretensions made iu the first pages of 
the Strictures * f whether such material changes of terms 
rre not likely to blind and mislead those? who want 
leisure or disposition for a full investigation ; to in- 
volve the controversy in darkness and confusion, and 
thus perverts rather than promote the only proper pur- 
pose of such publications. 

But again; we are told, i: Mr. W. wishes to knew 
what" is meant " by the doctrines of the true church 
r-f itod in all ages," Mr. W. has been greatly misun- 
derstood, if he has been supposed to ask his venerable 
opponents for any such definition. Their answer 
might easily have been foreseen, and, when obtained, 
it could hardly be expected to contribute any thing to 
the termination of dispute. 

The authors of the Counterpart (p 21,) enumerate 
several doctrine?, which they profess to believe ''plain- 
ly revealed, as fundamental," and to have been " em- 
braced by the church of God in every age." On this 
sentence, which involves the condemnation of so 



10 



many millions of apparently pious people, they were 
called upon by the author of the Com, pages 36, 37, to 
define their terms and then prove that those doctrines 
were thus revealed, and that they had been held by 
the church of God in nil ages. To what purpose then 
are we told (Strict p. 8,) that, The doctrine? rj the 
true church in all ages, are those main, clear and sav-s ■ 
ing truths, which are manifestly contained ia the sa- 
cred scriptures" ? Who under the heavens would doubt 
it '! and what is this hut .-a total evasion of one of the 
capital points in dispute ? 

Il l understand what my opponents have advanced 
on this point, they are evidently arguing in what logi- 
cians call a circle, attempting to prove two doubtful 
things by each other. It is presumed, they will not 
f'eny that they mention so frequently the supposed 
universality of their particular views, in the church ©f 
Christ, in order to impress their readers more deeply 
with the truth and essential importance of those senti- 
ments. Eut how do they make out that universality? 
"By denying either explicitly or implicitly that any 
but those who hold those doctrines, belong to the true 
church. The argument, when reduced to form, ctands- 
thus : Though some ©f these doctrines have been 
doubted by multitudes of professed Christians, they 
havo been universally acknowledged in the true church, 
because none are to be considered as belonging to the 
true church who do not hold them ; and since these 
doctrines have been embraced by the true church ia 
every age, they must be viewed as sacred and essen- 
tial doctrines. If the gentlemen think their ecclesi- 
astical system requires such a kind of argument, they 
think full as badly of it, as the author of these remarks. 

The author of the Stric tures, while he declines, for 
the present, going into a full and formal discussion of 
the importance of the doctrines in view, introduces a 
few arguments, which may be thought to require some 
notice. But let it be remembered, as a piece of sim- 
ple justice to the writer cf these remarks, that rvhile he 
disputes ike validity of certain arguments brought in sup- 



20 



port of certain doctrines^ he is not disputing against the 
doctrines themselves. Truth must be sustained by 
some mean?, that are not equally applicable to error, 
and it will never suffer by the removal of fallacious 
reasonings. 

Most subjects of human investigation, and especial- 
ly many things in religion present a variety cf aspects, 
and consequently, as might be expected among crea- 
tures so imperfect, ami so differently situated, as men, 
excite a diversity of sentiments. There are probably 
many truths and important ones too, which are in- 
volved in some perplexity. Appearances are not uni- 
form. There is something plausible, and perhaps un- 
answerable to be said against them.* 

Now it is the custom of many, to represent the most 
embarrassed subjects, as of one uniform aspect, and 
that a very clear one; to augment to the very extreme 
the evidence in favor of their own views, and to throw 
ail counterevideace out of sight. And what will be 
the effect of such a mode of procedure / What but an 
excessive conndence in their own opinion?, and cor- 
responding iiliberaiity and intolerance toward those 
who differ If Doubt'ers, if we believe all the evidence 
to lie on one side, we mi? t suppose those who profess 
to differ in opinion, are either weak or wicked. Per- 
haps then an impartial examination of several argu- 
ments, advanced in the Strictures, may with the gra- 
cious blessing of heaven promote the cause of Chris- 
tian charity and forbearance. 

The first point the Rev. Dr. argues, is the truth of 
our Lord's essential divinity. Ey " essential divini- 
ty, 5 ' as appears from the paragraph above, he means to 
include selfexistence ; he means to deny that Christ 
in his superior nature is Son. At least this is under- 
stood to be his meaning. One or two of the scriptures, 
there cited, particularly John i. 1. I consider substan- 
tial evidence of the divinity of Christ. But does any 
thing, there adduced, prove.it in the author's particu- 



* See Dr. Waits' Logic, Fart II. Chap. 3, 4, 5. 



21 



lar view ? That the passage?, John x. 30. find 1 Joha 
v. 7. should ever he thought conclusive hy any one 
who has impartially compared them with John xvii. 
21, 22, 23. seems hardly imaginable. 

After quoting a few scriptures oa the truth of the 
doctrine, the Rev, author roundly asserts, kt this doc- 
trine is fundable raft*?." The oniy appearance of ar- 
gil aient however, by which he sustains this con- 
fident and most momentous assertion, is a mere al- 
lusion to the declaration of our Lord, Matt. xvi. 18. 
" On this rock will I build my church." But what 
was that rock / The Roman Catholics say, it was Pe- 
ter himself; but probably ail protectants will agree in 
referring it to the profession p. had just made ; " Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Does thia 
prove it to be a fundamental doctrine, that Christ in 
his divine nature is not the Son of God? 

The second point argued by the Rev. Dr. (p. 12,) 
is what he calls, " the entire, moral depravity of fall- 
en men while in a state of unregeneraey." After some 
assertion?, which might perhaps as well have been 
gpared, he quotes the following passage from the Sih 
page of Com. " I believe the Holy Spirit often exerts 
an influence on the hearts of sinners without bringing 
them to thorough repentance and habitual holiness; 
and I think it too much for us to say, that under such 
an influence an unreformed sinner may not have some 
temporary feelings similar to those, which in thorough 
converts are habitual." 

" This passage" it is in the first place remarked, fl is 
suniciently ambiguous." What does the learned Dr. 
mean by ambiguity '/ It was the design of the author 
to express the precise state of his mind; and he is to 
unhappy, as not to see how any thing could have been 
less ambiguous, than the phraseology he used. 

The Rev. Dr. has interpreted the passage rightly 
enough, excepting that, he hss given me an air of con- 
fidence, from which I would rather be excused. On 
the sentiment the Dr. attributes to the passage, he 
makes the following exclamation; u Yv hat as awful 



22 

confusion of moral character does this sentiment pro* 
dace and then subjoins, 41 One scripture testimony 
will put down this fata! delusion ; because the carnal 
mind is enmity against G od ; for it is not subject to 
the [aw of Gob, neither indeed can be. So then they 
that are in the flesh, cannot please God 55 (See Ro.n. 
Till. 7, 8.) 

As to this scripture, I ni%ht perhaps insist, that 
what is here said of the carnal mind, is utterly irrele- 
vant; that nothing is predicated of the mind itself* 
but of a certain habit of mind, The original phrase, 
translated in the- 7th verse, ' the carnal mind" is pre- 
cisely the same with that in the 6 tlx, which is render- 
ed £C to be carnally minded." (To phronsma tes sarkos.) 

But not to urge a criticise which does not indeed 
£pp!y to the whole p&tsa@t* I would ask. What senti- 
ment, that any mortal ever thought of arguing from 
script are, could not be proved in the sasie way, and 
with equal pbiiisUmHy and strength? Says one, w Do 
you doubt, that every regenerate person leads a sinless 
Jlfe ? What an awfii confusion of moral character 
does this sentiment produce ! A child of Gop eonv 
mining sin I On a scripture testimony will put down 
this fatal delusion 6 He that is born of Gob, doth 
not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him, and he 
cannot Fin. because he is born of God." Says a se- 
cond, i; Bo you believe that the sinner's inipenitency 
is independent of any positive operation from God ? 
that he hardens himself ia his wickedness? One 
scripture testimony will put dawn this fata! delusion; 
'Whom he will he hardeneth " In the same way a third 
will prove beyond aii doubt, that the bread and the 
wine, used in the Lord'? supper, is the real flesh and 
blood of Christ ; " This is my body ; this is my blood;" 
a fourth thai a tree disciple of Christ must hate his 
nearest earthly connexions ; " If any man come after 
rne, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and 
children, and brethren and sisters- — lie cannot be my 
disciple;" a fifth, that the pleasures of sense are the 
chief good | « There is nothing better for a man, than 



23 



that he should eat anil drink, and that he should mtke 
his soul enjoy good in his labour;" a sixth, that man 
is -equally perishable with th* beasts; "As the one 
dieth,so dieth the other ; yea, they hare all one breath; 
so that man hath no pre-eminence above a beast;" a 
seventh, tfcat all will in fact be savsd; " Who will 
have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowl- 
edge of the truth; the loiigsufiermg of God is salva- 
tion." 

Doubtless it will be replied, •* Such scriptures are 
Hot to be construed in the most rigorou* sense ©f the 
terms. Abatements are to be made for strength of 
expression. They are to be interpreted by the gene- 
ral voice of scripture." Very well ; and possibly 
some such qualification may be necessary for the pas- 
sage before us. 

There is perhaps no w ay, in which charity suffers 
more, than in partial views of scripture • A remarka- 
ble instance is recorded John vii 49. compared with 
Ai and 52. " This people, that knoweih not the law, 
are cursed -" A mest solemn warning to ml 

If the sentiment, implied in the quotation from the 
iu&m. now under consideration, be so awfully hereti- 
cal, as my Rev. opponent represents ; if the sinner, 
before he attain to habitual, confirmed holiness, can- 
not with any assistances he may receive from on high 
do that w hich is in the least degree pleasing to /cd ; 
I suppose it a necessary consequence, that prior to con- 
version he may not use any means of grace ; he may 
cot pray ; he may not read the scriptures ; he may not 
attend on public worship or instruction, nor even per- 
form the most common offices of life, as duii s ; for 
"the sacrifice of the wicked," we are told, " is an 
abomination to the Lord." Nay we may not attempt 
any such thing, before we have clear evidence of our 
Conversion, lest we commit an abomination. All this 
some very consistently, as it is conceived, admit. But, 
it is supposed, the Rev. Dr. does not. 

The doctrine of predestination the Rev. author of 
Strict, endeavors to establish partly by reason and 



24 



partly by scripture. In the first plane lie represents 
it, as a necessary attendant of that divine foreknowl- 
edge his opponent concedes. He ask?, " How could 
God foreknow any thing until he had fixed the cer- 
tainty of it in his own council and decree." To this 
and other interrogatories of the kind, the writer of this 
most readily confesses, that he dees nek k:\crv how it 
was effected. But what is implied in this concession l 
What but this, that he does not pretend to have fouad 
out the Almighty to perfection ? 

The Rev. Dr. says, Strict, p. 13, " Few doctrines 
are more frequently revealed in scripture, than the doc- 
trine of God's sovereign election of a certain definite 
number of mankind to eternal life through Christ." 
How happens it then, that he has not cited some pas- 
cage more to his purpose ? One of the passages he has 
quoted may be found, Met lb. xxii. 14. the ether, Eph. 
i, 11 But do either of these places assert or clearly 
imply the doctrine of God's sovereign election of a cer- 
ium definite number of mankind to eternal life ? Doubt- 
less " many are called, but few are chosen," in a strict 
sense of the words' and it is equally certain, that ac- 
cording to the purpose of him, who c&rrieth on ail his 
designs after the counsel of his own will, those " who 
trust in Christ" are predestinated * to the praise of his 
glory." But how does that support the severed terms 
of (he preposition '/ 

The Rev. author proceeds in what may perhaps be 
called his characteristic manner,to assert the fundamen- 
tal importance of the doetrine, but without offering 
even a shadow of proof. 

The doetrine of justification in the present life, as 
the basis of the doctrine of perseverance, the Stric- 
tures attempt to prove. It is s-vd. (p 14 ) " The 
scriptures assert often and expressly, that men are, 
in the present time, justified by faith. That every 
ore who believes shall be saved." After this the vene- 
rable author proceeds to .argue from the scriptures that 
men may believe, long before they die, and therefore 
that they may be justified: in the present life. 



25 



The author of the Comments is not ye t so foolish, 
tz to deny that a man may believe, long before he 
dies; bat he is so rueak, as to have found some difficul- 
ty in believing that justification, as defined in the As- 
sembly's Shorter Catechism, takes place immediately 
on a person's believing. If all our sins are actually 
pardoned>how happen? it, that we are ail the residue 
of our lives suffering punishment for them ? What be- 
comes of the state of probation? What is the design 
ef the future judgment, in which we are to give an ac- 
count of ail the deeds done in the body ? 

I d© not mention these difficulties, as disproving the 
doctrine, but as involving it in a degree of doubt, 
which argues strongly for charity to those who cannot 
conscientiously profess it. 

As to the positive proofs of the doctrine, it may per- 
haps be a little surprising, that so able and learned a 
man as my Rev. opponent confessedly is, should have 
placed such reliance on the tense of the verb, when it 
is notorious, that both in scripture and common lan- 
guage the present and past are often used for the fu- 
ture. Hardly any thing is more frequent, than for a 
person, when speaking of a thing, on which he is de- 
termined, or concerning which he has no doubt, to say, 
* It is done." For scripture expressions of a similar 
kind the reader is referred to Matth. xxvi. 28. 4< my 
blood is shed;" Luke xx 37. " that the dead are rais- 
ed ;" Rom. viii. 30. " Whom he justified, them he al- 
so glorified/' 2 Pet. iii. 11. « Seeing that all these 
things are dissolved," as it stands in the original, ton ton 
panton luomenon. 

To impress their readers with the truth and impor- 
tance of their peculiar sentiments, the authors of the 
Counterpart, as already noticed, represent or insinuate 
in several places that those sentiments were held by 
the primitive church, and have been the doctrines of 
the church mi all ages; (See Count, pp. 3. 12, 21.) 
In the Com. pages 37, 33, several references are made 
to Mosheim, to refute those pretensions. The Rev. 
author of the Strict, page 24, endeavors to invalidate 
the authority of Mosheiia, But how does he doit ? 
By his own bare word. To the credit of one whose 



26 

learning and fidelity hare for a long course of years 
been gentrally, if not universally acknowledged, he 
opposes no authority but his own. True, he says "Mr. 
W. may rely with more security on the writings of 
the evangelical Miiner," (though a discerning scholar 
may profitably peruse Mosheim.) But it is observable, 
that he docs not cite from Miiner a single word in op- 
posit io a to the testimonies of Mosheim. Hence it is 
conceived, those testimonies are left in full force. 

The Rev. Dr. seems to concede that the few writ- 
ings, which have come down to U3 frem the Christian 
fathers are silent on these points. His words are, p. 
23, « He [Mr. W.] introduces his authorities to silence 
his opponents, and convince his readers, that those 
doctrines, several of them, if not all, were not adopted 
by the ancient church. Let it he observed, those doc- 
trines which were not controverted by seme sect of 
Errorrists in the church, were not made the subjects 
of animadversion in those few r writirgs of the Fathers, 
handed down, through the waste of sgas, to the present 
age. Those doctrines were admitted truths; not be- 
ing disputed, they were considered as established, and 
passed over in silence." How does h* know they 
M were admitted truths," if they " were passed over in 
silence" ? 

The learned Dr. speaks of the writings of the primi- 
tive fathers, which have escaped through tie waste* 
uf time as few, intending to intimate perhaps that they 
pi ay have insisted on these doctrines in those writings 
which are lost. But are their surviving works so few, 
as to leave any just reason to suppose they do not con- 
tain ail the sentiments, their authors considered of 
chief importance ? Whoever will take the trouble of 
visiting the library of Harvard College, cr even of con- 
sulting the Encyclopedia under the principal names of 
the primitive church, will find that the writings, which 
have been transmitted to us from the four first centu- 
ries after the ascension of Christ, are really voluminous. 
I believe there are not less than forty volumes from 
those centuries, that are considered authentic, and 
among those, many a huge folio. Much of these writ- 
ing! m la the way of commentary on scripture, and on 



27 



some of the passages,that are now adduced in confirma- 
tion of some of the doctrines we are considering. If 
then they were silent on any of these points, what shall 
we say of their silence ? The first council at Deerfield 
in 1807, profess to believe the doctrines, specified in 
their result, " not only important, but necessary to be 
believed and taught for the ingathering of souls," &c. 
The longest paragraph on the 5th page of Strict, may, 
I suppose, be considered a mere commentary on this ; 
and this is the basis of most,, if &o£ all the objections, 
that have ever been made to the pastor of Deerfield, as 
a minister of the gospel. They are net, so far as he 
ever learned, that ho preaches heresy, but that he does 
not sufficiently inculcate the truth. Now on this 
ground what will be the conclusion relative to the 
primitive church ? Must it not be this, that for several 
centuries immediately succeeding the apostles the 
church was not favored with a single minister worthy 
of the of£ce ? If it is such a criminal neglect, as many 
consider it, to preach a single sermon without intro- 
ducing the whole system of religion, what shall we say 
of those who, would write volume after volume and 
large volumes too. without introducing even their fun- 
damentals, if they considered these doctrines so ? Were 
those the golden days of the church ? 

46 However, ' says the Rev. Dr. Strict, p. 23, "it 
will not be contended, that Christ's essential divinity 
was net a doctrine maintained as fundamental, by the 
evangelical church in ancient times, since so much 
blood was shed by savage persecuting Arians, &e. 
How many blessed martyrs of Jesus have sealed their 
faith with their blood, while groaning under the pecu- 
liarly cruel and intolerant spirit cf An tifrinits nanism/' 
Is there any thing conclusive iii this ? Because the 
" savage Arians" imbibing the spirit, which has been 
sadly prevalent in almost all ages of the church, perse- 
cuted their opposers, therefore their opposers had the 
same views of our Lord's divinity with those who claim 
the exclusive title of orthodoxy at the present day t 
Beside, when did these persecutions take place ? Arius 
himself did not come npon the stage before the fourth 
eefltury ? when, as all agree* the purest days of th* 



church were past. In regard to the style of this 'pas- 
sage indeed the substance of it, some perhaps may ha 
inclined to adopt the words of the Rev. author ist an- 
other place, (Strict, p. 3.) " If it is calculated to ?nove 9 
it is not calculated to inform, or to aid in disquisitions 
after truth.'' 

" Nor 5 , 5 ' continues the Rev. author, " can it be fair- 
ly ail edged, that the doctrines of total moral depravity, 
and of special, supernatural grace, were not the receiv- 
ed doctrines of the true church, previously to their be- 
ing attacked by the Pelagians, in support of their fa- 
vorite scheme of free mil and Hie efficiency of common 
grace" What if this could not be alleged? Would 
this negative state of things justify my opponents in al- 
leging the contrary ? Beside, when did the Pelagians 
arise I Not before the close of the fourth century. As 
to the doctrine ef " special, supernatural grace, 5 ' it is 
supposed, the primitive church did hold it, as well as 
the writer of these remarks. 

It is subjoined in the Strictures (p. 24,) " The doc- 
trine of the decrees and of particular election was a 
received article of faith, as is evident from the alarm, 
which was excited in the Christian ebureh, as soon as 
it was attacked." When ? What alarm ? What was 
said, of done ? By whom ? It is not by any means un- 
frequent for men of passion and pride to hold their own 
original fancies essential to the well being of the 
church, and to exhibit great alarm, when opposed in 
them. 

But if we may credit several authors of acknowledg- 
ed ability, the fathers were net silent on several of the 
points before us, but gave their voice.most explicitly 
against them, particularly, as t© a limited redemption f 
and such a predestination, as destroys the freedom of 
the human will. Tomline, Ld. Bp e of Lincoln, has 
produced in a treatise on these points more than 100 
pages from the writings of the fathers of the four first 
centuries which appear to speak a very different lan- 
guage, on some points, from what is claimed to be tie 
orthodoxy of the present day. Whether he is faithful im 
hu extracts and translations, I have not had oppor- 
tunities for determining. As Ire has pledged however 



2& 



hh word and character on his fidelity and fairnes?, 
and as he has referred his readers to the places, where 
the quotations may be found, the presumption is, that 
he intended strict impartiality, At any rate it will re- 
quire something more than a bare word from my Rev. 
opponent to put down his authority. I proceed to? 
give a few extracts from some of the authors he quotes, 
referring to the pages, where they are to be found, and 
the times they wrote. 

Ignatius a Contemporary with the Apostles, 

" If any one be impious, he is a man of the devil, 
being made so, not by nature, but by his own wiiL" 
Vol. 2. p. 55. Cotlerius 5 ed. 1724. 

Jusiin Martyr, A. D* 140. 

" The Father of the universe was willing his Christ 
should take the curses of all for the whole human mce. ' 
Page 345, Thirlby's ed. 

Taiian, A, D. 172. 

" No evil proceeds from God. We hare produced, 
wickedness ; but those who produced it, have it in 
their power again to renounce it." Page 45. Worth's 
ed. Oxford, 1700. 

IrencenS) A. D. 178. 

" Those who do not work it," [good] " will receive 
the just judgment of God, because they have not work- 
ed good, when they had it in their power to work it» ? * 
Page 281, Ben. ed. 

Clement, of Alexandria, A. D. 134. 

" Neither praise, nor dispraise, nor honours, nor pun- 
ishments would be just, if the soul had not the power 
of desiring and rejecting, and if vice were involuntary * 
Page 363, Potter's ed. 

<w Either the Lord does not care for all men, and 
this proceeds either from his not being able to do so— 
or from his not being willing, though able, which 
would not be compatible with his attribute of goodnes 3 , 
or he dots care for all men, which is becoming him 
who is Lord of all." Page 332, 

Teriullian, A, D. 200. 

" That which is subject to our own will, we ought 
not to refer to the will of God." — " XT you do not obey 
God, who having given you a command, hai formed 
c 2 



you with a free power, you will voluntarily fall, by ths 
freedom of your will, into that which God does not 
will." Page 519, Rigaitius' ed. 

Cyprian, A, B, 248. 

" That man has tree will to believe or not to be- 
lieve," [is shown] "in Deut. 1 hare act before you 
life and death,'" Sec. Page 319, Benedict, ed. 
Lactaniius, A. D. 306. 

" God denies immortality to no human being, who 
is bora into the world. Vol. 1. p. 437. Dup. ed. 
Eusebius, A.D.315. 

" When a man acts wrongly, nature is not to be j 
blamed ; for what is wrong, takes place, Dot according 
to nature, but contrary to nature, it being the work of J 
choice, and not of nature. 51 Page 250, Pr. Evasg. Pa- 
ris ed. 1628. 

Atlianasius, A. D. 326. 
€i By his death j salvation came to all, and every crea- 
ture was ransomed. He is the life of all — a ransom 
for the salvation of all," Page 79, Benedict, ed. 
Cvril 9 of Jerusalem, A. D. 348. 
16 As a writing pen or a weapon has need of one to 
act with it, so grace has need of those who believe." — 
44 It belongs to Gob to give grace, but to vou to re- 
ceive *nd preserve it" Page 17, Benedict, ed. 
Hilary, A. D. 354. 
" There is not any necessity of sin in the nature of 
men ; but the practice of sin arises from the desire of 
the will, and the pleasure of vice." Page 219, Bene- 
dict, ed. 

Epiphanius, A. D. 368. 

46 To believe or not to believe is in our own power. 
But where it is in our power to believe or not to be- 
lieve, it is in our power to act rightly or to sin ; to do 
good or to do evil." Page 575, Petavius' ed. 1682. 
Basil, A. D. 370. 

" As no reasoning teaches us to hate illness, but we 
have a spontaneous dislike of the things which give us 
pain ; so there is in the soul a certain untaught declia- a 
ation from evil." Vol. 1. p. 83, Ben. ed. 

" You well know that the cooperation of G©D <Je* | 
pends on your own wills/' Vol. 3, p. 432. 



Gregory, Naz. A. D. 370. 

4i We hare need both of power over ourselves, and 
of salvation from G©d. Therefore, gays he, 4 It is not 
of him that willetV that is, not of him only that will- 
etb, nor of him only that runneth, but of God that 
ehoweth mercy." Vol. 1. p. 504, Paris ed. 1630. 
Gregory of Nyssa, A. D* 370. 

" That any one should beeome wicked depends sole* 
ly upon choice." Vol. 2. p. 304, Parii ed. 163a. 
Ambrose, A. D, 374. 

u Tou are the cause of your own wickedness ; you 
lead yourself into vice ; you stir up yourself to crimes. 
Why do you call in a foreign nature to excuse your 
failings ? It eertainly is in our own power to moderate 
our desires, to curb anger, to restrain lusts." Vol. 1. 
p. 18, Bened. ed, 

" Gob desires to be the cause of salvation to all, not 
of death : He repels none." Vol. 1. p. 672. 

" The Lord know r s who are his. He wishes all to 
fee his, whom he hath formed and created." Vol. 1. 
p. 865. 

44 The good Lord requires exertion ; he supplies 
strength." Vol. 1. p. 1400. 

Jerome, A. D. 392. 

" The choice of good or evil rests with our own 
free will." Vol. 3. p. 418,Benedict. ed. 

44 It is not necessary, that we should do what he" 
[God] 44 foreknew, because he knew it would happen; 
but because we were about to do it by our own free 
will, he, as God, knew it would happen." Vol. 3. 
p. 653. 

44 John the Baptist utters a falsehood, when he 
points to Christ, and says, 4 Behold the Lamb of tioD 
that taketh away the sin of the world,' if there be still 
persons in the wo?ld, whose sins Christ has not taken 
away." Vol. 4. part 2. p. 646. 

Augustine, A. D. 398. 

" If he" [Pelagius] " will agree, that the will itself, 
and the action are assisted by God, and so assisted, 
that we cannot will or do any thing well without that 
assistance, no controversy will be left betweea us, a? 



32 



far as I can judge, concerning the assistance of the 
grace of God/* VoL 10. p. 251, Ben. ed. 

Chrysostam, A. D. 393. 
" If wickedness were inherent ia man by nature, 
any one might with reason resort to an excuse," VoL 
1. p. 83, Benedict, ed. 

" What would be more unjust, than that those 
should be punished, who are not able to do what ought 
to be done, or that those should suffer, whose actions 
are not in their own power ? 5 ' Vol, 6. p. 165. 

u It rests with us, whether God will have pity upon 
us." VoL 11. p. 494. 

Thus much from Tomline's citations from the Fa- 
thers. Many original extracts of similar import might 
be added ; but my limits will not admit. 

I would not be understood to rest the truth of any 
religious doctrines on the apparent sentiments of the 
early fathers of the church. They too were fallible 
men. Nay, let the word of God be the supreme cri- 
terion of Christian truth. But the preceding citations, 
if faithful, show how slender are the pretensions of my 
opponents to primitive ground even in support of such 
awful denunciations against their brethren in the 
Lord. Doubtless there are many passages ia the fa- 
thers, that would serve to qualify some of the foregoing 
quotations, and in many instances 1 should myself wish 
they should be qualified. 

In conclusion of this subject " the writer of the 
Strictures believes, that the doctrines considered as 
essential by the true church of God, may be ascertain- 
ed by the confessions of f rith adopted in the church, 
after it emerged from the errors of popery; that i?, 
from the confessions of the Lutheran, the Episcopal, 
the Presbyterian, and Independent churches of Eu- 
rope, and from the articles of faith adopted in the ear- 
lier and purer ages of the New England churches ; by 
men versed in the writings of the fathers, and more 
deeply versed in the scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament. 

I am at some loss how to understand the Rev. Dr. 
in this passage. Does he mean that the sentiments of 
ike fathers are to be inferred from those of the reform- 



*rs? that we are implicitly to go to them, as inter- 
preters of the fathers 9 What advantages had they for 
an acquaintance with this subject, which we have not ? 
Have any ancient books since their day been lost ? 
Hare any explanatory facts ov events passed into oblivi- 
m? Are our institutions of learning inferior to theirs, 
our iires shorter, or the powers of our minds less ade- 
quate to the subject ? Is not the reverse of several of 
these things notoriously true & Have we not all the 
light they had, all they contributed to the general stock, 
and all that has been supplied by several intervening 
ages, in which, whatever the general character, there 
have been many prodigies of industry and learning ? 
Whence, if we be not as capable of judging for our- 
selves what were the sentiments of the primitive fa- 
thers, as those, who had just emerged from the gross 
darkness of popery, is it not our shame ? 

The Rev. Dr. still lays claim to the protestant 
churches of early times at least, as holding all the sen- 
timents, for which he is contending. In support of 
this claim he refers, as may be seen above, to the con- 
fessions of the Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, 
and Independent churches of Europe, and the articles 
of faith, adopted in the earlier and purer age of the New 
England churches." Should this claim be established, 
how far would it fall short of that universality, to 
which the gentlemen first pretended ! 

That the sentiments under discussion were general- 
ly held by the early churches of Cffew England, is pro- 
bable. Certain it is, that the authors of the Cambridge 
platform recognise the Assembly's Catechism, as a 
-summary of their own faith. As to the Fresbyteriaa 
and Congregational churches of Great- Britain, i have 
understood from a satisfactory source, though I am aot 
now able to give the authority, that the Westminster 
Assembly was near equally divided in the adoption of 
their articles. There is some plausibility in the asser- 
tion, that the Lutherans in the commencement of the 
reformation held most, if not all of these doctrines in 
the same sense, in which Calvin afterward asserted 



* See Comments, pp, 12. 13, 14, 



S4 

them, and particularly those of election and predeMi* 
nation. Melancthon confesses that at the beginning 
of the reformation there had been among its advocates 
6i horrid stoic disputations about fate." Ee expresses 
himself in similar terms of the predestination of Calvin. 
If however we mny confide in high- authorities, this 
doctrine was express!^ discarded by the Lutherans, 
long before the death of Luther. Mel&Bcthoo- in a stand- 
ard work of his, entitled Loci Theolcgici, had incul- 
cated the doctrine ; but in 1533 h*s expunged it, and 
inserted the opposite one of contingency. In the same 
book he seems plainly not to admit oi tci:d depravity ^ 
nor indefectible grcm in the Calvimstie sense.* On 
this work Luther afterward focu^red high and unre- 
served commendation, f 

That the Thirty Nine articles of the English Epis- 
copal church, when fairly int rpre ted, are not Calvin- 
istic; that they do not avow txe C atomistic doctrines 
of election and predestination, original sin, or total de- 
pravity, and irresistihk and indefectible grace, many 
have attempted to shosr, a,nd among others Dr* Law- 
rence in his Bampton Lectures. This he argues first 
from the fact, that the Calvinists were not satis ned 
with them, but in the re:gns of Elizabeth, James I. and 
Charles I. endeavored to procure amendments in favor 
of their peculiar sentiments ; and secondly from the 
known opinions of Arch. Bp. Craivmer, whom he 
proves to have bees the author, and from the source, 
whence they were borrowed. He shawsby authentic 
documents that Melancthon, the German reformer, af- 
ter he had become what the Rev. Dr. would call an 
apostate, was consulted ; that he received repeated in- 
vitations, not less than five or sis, by letters and em- 
bassies, to come over to England, and aid in the set- 
tlement of their articles. And he produces strong in- 
ternal evidence, that several of those articles were 
borrowed fro 11 the Lutheran confessions. 

To these, who are not acquainted with the institu- 
tion of the Bampton Lectures, it may be of importance 

# See Lawrence's Bampton Lectures, pp- 243, 249 5 
250, 262, 406, 7, 414, 5, 8, 422, t M 301. 



S5 



to he told; that they are eight lectures, deiiv ered every 
year in the university of Oxford. The lecturer is ap- 
pointed by the heads of the colleges, and of course 
iaust he supposed to be a man of character and great 
learning. Dr. Lawrence, being resident at the univer* 
sity, had the benefit of that immense library for a year, 
in preparing these lectures with the notes subjoined. 

Thus much for the Rev. Dr's. claims to the reforma- 
t4on. That the churches on the continent of Europe, 
the Episcopal church of England, or the churches of 
our own country hava adhered to all these doctrines, 
I suppose he will not now pretend. 

1 might further insist that the reed agreement of 
Christians on some of these points, particularly the 
mysterious doctrines of the Trinity, is much less, than 
the apparent agreement. Those who in general terms 
acknowledge and assert the doctrine, differ extremely 
in the sentiments they aifix to those terms. 

So much for the assumed universality of the doc- 
trines in view, on account of which the gentlemen, I 
suppose, would terrify their readers out of all charity 
for those who cannot profess them. I wish however 
again to state that I have not been arguing against the 
doctrines , but against pretensions to a degree of evidence,, 
which, I conceive, does not exist. 

Of the minority of the council at Greenfield, th@ 
Rev. author says, p. 28, " It is not without prece- 
dent, that members have by a council called to or- 
dain, been excluded, &c. A precedent of this kind 
occurred in this neighborhood not many years since". 
Does the gentleman refer to the instance, that took 
place at L. by his own instigation ? If so, is it admis- 
sible, that he should pSead it, as a precedent in the pre- 
sent case ? 

On the 20th page the Rev. author undertakes to 
give the public information relative to the creeds, suc- 
cessively used in the church of Deeraeld, witfe some- 
thing like an insinuation, that Mr. W- had either igno- 
raatlv or designedly imposed upon them in regard to 
the ereed, for which the one now used i- a substitute. 
*> in his Comments, Mr. WiUnt&km inserted ihe Con- 
fession of Faith used by his predecessor, Rev* Mr. 



fession of Faith used by his predecessor, Hev. Mr. 
Taylor, and the Confession by him since introduced. 
The public may be ied to think that the CoufessioH, 
used by Mr. Taylor, was the ancient established Con- 
fession ofDeerfield Church; but it h proper* that the 
public should know that the Church did not perma- 
nently lay aside their ancie jit creed, but considered it 
the basis of their union. It probably now lies among 
the records of the Church.'- He professes to have re- 
ceived his information from Rev. Mr. Taylor. But m 
reply to all this I can say that so far as I have learned, 
and I have made many inquiries, the information was 
as new to every member of this church, as it could be 
to any body on earth; it was perfectly so tome; the 
person who acted as scribe, during the vacancy of the 
pastoral office, and who was a? likely to be faithful to 
such a trust, as any one in the church, neither brought 
me the ancient creed with the other papers and books, 
nor, so far as I can recollect, said a word about it ; and 
finally Mr. Taylor himself, has not left ©a record a 
single word, to show that the o!d creed was not, as 
all appearances would lead one to suppose, entirely 
superseded by the new one. The object of a meeting 
dated " Dec. 23, 1804." (1803, I suppose it should 
have been.) if stated to have been, ct to see whether 
the church would shorten the confession of faith;" 
which they voted to take into consideration. At an 
adjourned meeting, March 16, 1804, it is recorded, " a 
new confession of faith was prepared by the Pastor, and 
accepted and this is all, that is said on the subject, 

I have now done with these Remarks. Whether ' 
they will be considered, as entitled to an answer on 
either of the conditions prescribed in the Strictures, I 
can not tell. But, should any answer be made, it must 
be in point ; it must contain less of assertion, and more 
of proof or plausible reasoning; or the public need not 
expect another address from the author of this, 

If any thing, inconsistent with the Christian spirit, 
1 ifus found its way into these Remarks, may a merciful 
God forgive it, and avert its evil effects; and may 
he grant such light and influence from above, that all. 
who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, may love 
one another. 



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